Intel Capital is the venture capital investment arm of the U.S. chip giant, and its investments over the past few years have occurred in many different areas of technology, with the aim being to either eventually acquire the company invested in or sell its stake for a good profit.

The company just revealed what it believes are the top 5 areas of technology currently seeing the most venture capital interest and investment. These areas are:

Clean Technology

Mobile Internet

Digital Media

Healthcare

Emerging Markets

All the technologies mentioned are key areas of research and development around the world. Clean technology is in demand due to the concerns over growing carbon emissions. Mobile Internet is gaining popularity through a growing number of communication-enabled gadgets and infrastructure to support their wireless connectivity.

Digital media investment relates to convergence of different media such as gaming and communications, business and payments, and any other key services that are forming links. Healthcare has also been an area for some time now that has been benefiting from technology; and with the continuing drive to combat more diseases and treat patients better, this trend is set to continue.

Finally Emerging Markets relates to investments in areas of the world where economies are not as mature as in the West, but growth is happening at a greater speed. Examples of these markets include Brazil, India, China, and Russia.

I think the 5 areas detailed above are quite obvious ones to anyone with a knowledge of the tech industry in general. The difficulty comes in identifying companies and ideas within each area that have potential, and just as importantly, have potential that is taking them in the right direction for the future.

Venture capitalist companies take very big risks with the money they invest, and that is why they usually want such a significant chunk of a business for their participation. Sometimes they get it right and can make a huge amount of money while supporting the development of something significant. Other times the promising ideas or prototypes don’t end up working, and the investment comes to nothing.

Of the 5 areas, I believe clean technology and emerging markets are the most important. Many Western governments are putting a lot of pressure on companies to produce cleaner products across a range of industries. This means the demand for cleaner versions of existing products and any new products that come to market will have to ensure they are as clean as can be in terms of energy usage and recycling.

Emerging markets such as India and China are growing at a phenomenal rate, and with it will come new tech hotspots, new markets to sell your products to, and new talent to hire. There are bound to be a lot of new ventures started in these countries over the coming years, and the venture capital companies will be there to invest money in the most promising ones.